A Calculator's Most Important Button Has Been Removed (theatlantic.com) 69
Apple's latest iOS update has removed the "C" button from its Calculator app, replacing it with a backspace function. The change, part of iOS 18, has sparked debate among users accustomed to the traditional clear function. The removal of the "C" button represents a significant departure from decades-old calculator design conventions, The Atlantic writes. From the story: The "C" button's function is vestigial. Back when calculators were commercialized, starting in the mid-1960s, their electronics were designed to operate as efficiently as possible. If you opened up a desktop calculator in 1967, you might have found a dozen individual circuit boards to run and display its four basic mathematical functions. Among these would have been an input buffer or temporary register that could store an input value for calculation and display. The "C" button, which was sometimes labeled "CE" (Clear Entry) or "CI" (Clear Input), provided a direct interface to zero out -- or "clear" -- such a register. A second button, "AC" (All Clear), did the same thing, but for other parts of the circuit, including previously stored operations and pending calculations. (A traditional calculator's memory buttons -- "M+," "M-," "MC" -- would perform simple operations on a register.)
By 1971, Mostech and Texas Instruments had developed a "calculator on a chip," which condensed all of that into a single integrated circuit. Those chips retained the functions of their predecessors, including the ones that were engaged by "C" and "AC" buttons. And this design continued on into the era of pocket calculators, financial calculators, and even scientific calculators such as the ones you may have used in school. Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.
By 1971, Mostech and Texas Instruments had developed a "calculator on a chip," which condensed all of that into a single integrated circuit. Those chips retained the functions of their predecessors, including the ones that were engaged by "C" and "AC" buttons. And this design continued on into the era of pocket calculators, financial calculators, and even scientific calculators such as the ones you may have used in school. Some of the latter were, in essence, programmable pocket computers themselves, and they could have been configured with a backspace key. They were not.
Not surprising (Score:3)
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In my experience of a few decades, almost no-one knows the difference between C and AC. Even after itâ(TM)s explained when they ask if they do, why there 2 clear buttons.
That is largely due to inconsistency between calculators. For example "C" erasing an entire operand or a single digit. The latter case where "C" is just a backspace. Or where "C" is overloaded, a clear operand if pressed once and clear all if pressed twice in a row. The latter assuming a typo was in the last operand.
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Who needs a calculator?
A true geek uses a bash prompt to enter python3 -c "print(<mathematical expression>)"
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Python? Hah. *True* geeks use bc.
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all the way. I mean, there is a shell somewhere on the virtual desktop I'm at anyway.
Re: Not surprising (Score:2)
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@Technetium:~$ calc 3^10
59049
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I just press both buttons thrice to make sure...
The most important button on a calculator (Score:5, Insightful)
is the Enter key
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Followed by the xy button.
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I thought it was the power button?
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I mainly use a nice RPN calculator on my phone. It's vastly superior to regular infix calculators, especially when you know how to manipulate the stack and set it to show several values.
I took a look because I never really thought about the fact that it lacks a normal clear button. It has a backspace, which clears the last typed character, or if the top-of-stack is a calculation result, sets the whole register to zero (never realized that feature). It also has a clear stack (similar to AC), and a "drop" to
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I ruined myself years ago with RPN. I cannot use simple calculators because I'm constantly losing numbers. Very annoying. I've tried a variety of RPN-style calculator apps. I always come back to Droid48, a HP 48 emulator.
Very much off-topic now, but my real HP 48 is nearly 30 years old now, and is starting to have issues with foam deteriorating and not pressing hard enough on the keyboard ribbon connector. I ordered a non-working HP 48 on ebay to see if I can figure out how to open it up without destroyi
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I recently decided to go back to University and one of the classes I'm taking has a rule prohibiting graphing or pr
This Is The Way (Score:2)
Can still clear everything ... (Score:5, Informative)
From TFA:
Forth Calculator (Score:2)
I use Gforth as a calculator https://gforth.org/ [gforth.org] .
When my computer boots up, I have it automatically pop up a terminal window running Gforth so it is always available for a quick calculation:
ok 2.0e pi f* f. 6.2832
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Now we are into something interesting.
Re: Forth Calculator (Score:2)
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Well, Forth is Turing Complete, and the built in calculators aren't.
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Forth and 16KB of RAM and you can send a man to the moon!
It's expensive (Score:2)
To run a server that does only one thing. Once we found that we didn't need a cloud service that cleared the input buffer, we just eliminated the skeuomorph. You'll still have the backspace ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H delete key.
Alternately press and hold delete (Score:1)
slow news day? (Score:1)
And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:5, Insightful)
[BS], backspace, operates on individual digits and operators
[C] clear, operates on operands (collections of digits) and operators
[CA] clear all, operates on the entire pending expression (all operands and operators)
You might want to do any of the following depending on the nature of a typo, consider "12 + 34"
[BS]: "12 + 3"
[BS][BS]: "12 +"
[BS][BS][BS]: "12"
[BS][BS][BS][BS]: "1"
[BS][BS][BS][BS][BS]:""
[C]: "12 +"
[C][C]: "12"
[C][C][C]: ""
[CA]: ""
Re:And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:5, Funny)
I think the word you are looking for is "courageous"
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Re:And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:5, Interesting)
The old app was single entry and worked like a single entry calculator. The new app is algebraic entry and works like an algebraic entry calculator.
Your example is for algebraic entry but I don't think I've ever seen an algebraic that supports C, only AC and backspace. I looked at all of my Casios, Sharps, TIs, and HPs and none of them support it. Can you provide an example that does?
Re: And Apple's redesign is inferior (Score:2)
You can make up you own definitions all you want and complain that everyone doesnt do things your way, if it makes you feel good about yourself, go for it. Nobody else cares though
Apple computers keyboards (Score:2)
That's kind of an weird and inconsistent change, considering that Apple's computer keypads have a Clear key. That convention goes as far back as the Apple Lisa in 1983, if not further.
On USB keyboards it is the same key as Num Lock on PC but interpreted differently. Microsoft in its Apple-envy even added a separate Clear key to some of its own keyboards even though that one isn't normally supported by MS-Windows and requires a driver.
80085 (Score:1)
Re:80085 (Score:4, Funny)
5318008
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3200 8008 379009
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710.77345
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The headline is wrong (Score:1)
The Atlantic got it wrong (and the Slashdot editor just went with it) but "C" is not the most important button. I don't know which button is, but the "1" button is more important that "C". A power cycle will substitute for a "C" button but you won't get far with a missing "1". "2". "3", "4", etc. are more important that "C" too.
No C-button on Android (Score:1)
But, progress, maaan *inhales* (Score:3)
But, progress, maan. *inhales and keeps it in*
What, you gonna do what those pale stale males did 60 years ago? Get wiiith it maaan.. *inhales*
Yeaaah. All that progress for progress' sake, never stopping to think that sometimes holding on to what was is better than being a bleeding-edge radical.
I thought change and progress was this group's bag, no? Is this suddenly too much?
Make up your minds. Keep it as it was, or move fast and break everything.
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Welcome change (Score:2)
You insenstive clod! (Score:3)
All I have is this stinkin' slide rule.
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HiperCalc Pro (Score:2)
I bought HiperCalc Pro and it keeps getting significant new features. My kids use it too for their advanced math classes and prefer it to a TI.
A good blend of traditional calculator and phone capabilities.
cz.hipercalc.pro on Android - maybe iPhone people can get it too.
It's just nice to see small developers still making great software.
Apple: Unburdened by what has been (Score:1)
HP Calculators Use Arrow Key (Score:2)
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Bullshit (Score:2)
I have a 1990s HP48G somewhere. It has both a backspace and a delete key. If you want clear you have to hit shift. I also have a Casio CFX-9800. It's got a backspace and an AC button but no C.
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Colossal tempest in a teapot clickbait as usual.
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Scientific Calculator (Score:2)
Busywork (Score:2)
not all calculators (Score:1)
As I first started reading, I was confused: doesn't the C clear everything? so replacing it with backspace makes no sense. Then I continued to read, and they described C and CE as functionally equivalent, as though this is universal. It's not: Many TI calculators use(d) C as their 'all clear' button, and CE as their 'clear entry' button.
Clickbait bullshit (Score:3)
Primary function you say? Oh, yea, one small detail: C isn't not gone. Long press backspace and poof! The entire line is gone.
Bsckspace (Score:2)
Many scientific calculators did have a backspace, the newer WYSIWYG calculators even have cursor keys.
I have an exact copy of my HP calculator (from HP) on my tablet, why would I care about Apple's little calculator? Who really uses the original calculator supplied with their device?
Relax.. Hold backspace for a second and it clears (Score:1)
It's supposed to be idiot proof. They failed, but if you hold the backspace button for a second it will clear. Backspace might be more useful since this calculator is more powerful.